E-learning and LMS blog articles

When entering a new role, most UK workers will join with at least a basic understanding of data protection laws. With cookie policy pop-ups on websites and news articles on high-profile data breaches, GDPR has become a prominent topic in public discourse. However, it remains the role of an employer to ensure that their employees acquire a deeper understanding of data protection laws to create a culture of compliance in the workplace. How can employers achieve this? With effective GDPR training for employees using an e-learning platform – keep reading to find out more.

What is GDPR training for employees?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a law that regulates data protection and privacy. Enforced in 2018, GDPR governs how organisations collect, store and protect personal data.

GDPR training aims to educate employees about the regulation and ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities in handling personal data, in compliance with these data protection laws.

Why is GDPR training for employees important?

• Helps ensure that a company is compliant
• Reduces chances of regulatory fines and penalties
• Mitigates the risk of data breaches
• Keeps employees, customers and stakeholders safe from data breaches
• Increases customer trust and loyalty

What are some areas that might be covered during GDPR training?

• Outlining the laws and key principles of data protection
• Educating employees on phishing attacks
• Outlining the responsibilities of those handling personal data
• Outlining the procedure for dealing with a suspected data breach

Now we’ve covered the basics, let’s run through our top tips for creating effective GDPR training for employees using e-learning platforms such as our award-winning compliance training LMS.

Clear objectives

With any training programme, you must clearly outline the objectives, and this is the case for GDPR training for employees. What is the purpose of this training? What should employees expect to get out of it? Why is it essential? Full transparency on GDPR training objectives will prevent this from simply becoming a tick-box exercise. And, with a better understanding of the value of this training, employees will be more motivated to complete it.

For full transparency of objectives, you can use the goal-setting functionality in your e-learning platform to identify measurable goals that employees can work towards. These goals can be built into wider learning plans and PDPs, aligning with other mandatory compliance training objectives.

Tackle low engagement levels

One of the biggest challenges companies face when delivering GDPR training is a lack of learner engagement. Data protection laws don’t necessarily make for a thrilling afternoon read. GDPR training content can often feel dry, especially when it feels irrelevant and generic.

To tackle this, try using real-world and specific examples and avoid the one-size-fits-all approach to training. By tailoring e-learning content to a specific department or job role, information is presented in a relatable context that employees will understand and regularly encounter in their daily roles. As a result, employees can better appreciate what these regulations will look like when put into practice.

Complex, regulatory content can be overwhelming for employees with no legal background. Not only does this result in low engagement levels, but also poor knowledge acquisition. So how do we transform ‘dull’ GDPR training into something exciting and engaging?

With an LMS, you can take advantage of microlessons, gamification, and interactive content to diversify training materials and inject some levity and fun. Break down long pieces of regulatory materials into bite-sized content that employees can easily digest and come back to for further clarification.

Monitor compliance with assessments and reports 

When delivering GDPR training, it’s vital that employees don’t just ‘tick the box’ by completing a course but actually acquire and retain the knowledge that has been relayed to them throughout training. This ensures they are equipped with the essential skills and knowledge required to adhere to GDPR in practice.

The best way to assess whether training has achieved the desired impact is to test employee knowledge with LMS assessments. LMS admins can use automated reports to immediately identify those with poor assessment results and take relevant action.

Assessments are also a great tool to determine whether employees need to complete a refresher course, several months after the initial completion of training. This process reduces the risk of GDPR-related mistakes caused by knowledge gaps that naturally form over time.

Easily stay on track

As with any form of compliance training, content needs to be regularly updated and training must be completed within regulatory deadlines. For L&D teams, this produces a great deal of admin work. However, using an LMS can dramatically decrease the time spent on manual admin – music to the ears of L&D professionals!

With automation functionality in an LMS, learners will be issued automated completion reminders for GDPR training courses, along with notifications of upcoming training expirations. With this functionality, admins can easily stay on track with regulatory deadlines without having to rely on manual processes.

Additional GDPR benefits when using an LMS

An LMS isn’t just a great solution for supporting GDPR training for employees, an LMS such as our Totara Learn system also offers tools and features for supporting GDPR management.

For instance, Totara can be used to update site-wide policies and automatically let users know, making it mandatory for them to acknowledge they've read/understood the changes. Admins can easily set up safeguarding rules so that users can't accidentally export personal sensitive data. And, Administrators can create and manage multiple data removal or purges - which can also be automated, meaning removing data from the system is much easier.

Deliver the most effective GDPR training for employees with a Hubken solution

Our Totara LMS has all the features and functionality required to support all your compliance training needs, leading our client Arriva to win Totara’s 2023 Best Compliance Training Experience Award. Find out everything you need to know about our solutions here or get in touch with one of our LMS experts today.